OW2 is an independent, global, open-source software community. The mission of OW2 is to a) promote the development of open-source middleware, generic business applications, cloud computing platforms and b) foster a vibrant community and business ecosystem.
OW2 developments follow a flexible, component-based approach. These components range from specific software frameworks, protocols and applications through to integrated, service-oriented platforms for enterprise computing.
OW2 consortium is an independent non-profit organization open to companies, public organizations, academia and individuals. OW2 is an open organization.
OW2 is committed to growing a community of open source code developers. The organization is dedicated to the creation of new technology: original code development is one of its fundamental characteristics. OW2 champions the tenets of quality and usability of its software in the open source enterprise marketplace. It fosters a common technical architecture to be shared by its members and to facilitate the implementation of its technology by systems integrators and end-users.
The OW2 projects aim at facilitating the development, deployment and management of distributed applications with a focus on open source middleware and related development and management tools. In the open source software value chain, OW2 is positioned as an industry platform facilitating interaction between open source code Producers and open source code Consumers.
OW2 provides three types of services to its community. First, OW2 operates a technical infrastructure: delivering tools and collaborative services to project teams: the core of the platform is a forge, the application which technically supports the projects through a number of tools for the management of code contributions, versions, debugging, licenses, contributors, redistribution, etc. Second it provides community services: organizing activities and the decision-making process; OW2 is a catalyst for social and business interaction relying on five guiding principles: Openness, Fairness, Trust, Transparency and Independence. Third, it provides marketing services: helping build the community identity, brand and the projects’ visibility essentially in three ways: creating collateral, organizing the community’s presence at professional events and driving outbound communication.